Ball and club alignment attachment for golf putting device



V. J. BILLEN Dec. 20, 1966 BALL AND CLUB ALIGNMENT ATTACHMENT FOR GOLFPUTTING DEVICE Filed May 5, 1964 INVENTOR VALENTINE J. Bun/v ATTORNEYUnited States Patent 3,292,928 BALL AND CLUB ALIGNMENT ATTACHMENT FORGOLF PUTTING DEVICE Valentine Joseph Billen, Sandstone, Minn. 55072Filed May 5, 1964, Ser. No. 364,947 2 Claims. (Cl. 273-163) Thisinvention relates to an improvement in direction indicator for golfputters and deals particularly with a simple and effective device foruse in increasing the accuracy of a golfer during the putting operation.

Over the years, a number of devices have been developed for use inincreasing the accuracy of a golfer while putting. In general, thesedevices have usually been produced in two forms. Some such devices havebeen made which include a clamp designed for attachment to the shaft ofa golf club and which extend over the head of the club. These devicesare usually adjustable so that they may be pivoted to a desired anglerelative to the face of the club. One of the difficulties experiencedwith devices of this type reside in the fact that they are not in anyway fixed relative to the club face, and are held to the shaft by anadjustable clamp. As the clamp usually extends about the metal shank ofthe club head, it is difficult to keep this apparatus from rotatingabout the axis of the club shaft. In other words, in making a long puttthe club must be swung with considerable force until the face of theclub hits the ball, at which time the movement of the club is materiallyarrested. At this point, the weight of the attachment creates a materialforce tending to rotate the attachment about the axis of the shaft. Inother words, the attachment is not stopped by striking the ball as isthe club head, and the attachment tends to swing out of adjustment bythe force of inertia.

Other devices have been employed which comprise merely an attachment tothe rear face of the club head to extend rearwardly therefrom at rightangles to the face of the club. Such devices are shown in the patent toHolden 635,023, patented July 3, 1900, and the patent to Howard E.Baack, 1,659,231, patented February 14, 1928. While such devices may beeffective for their intended purpose, there are also certaindifiiculties to devices of this type. For example, an attachment on therear face of a putter to extend rearwardly from the club head positionsthe direction-finding member very close to the surface of the groundand, while not usually interferring with the operation of the clubduring the putting of the ball, the rearwardly extending directionfinder is sufiiciently close to the ground so that it will often strikethe ground as the club is swung forwardly after the actual puttingoperation. Thus while not actually interfering with the putting stroke,the device tends to create a mental hazard which sometimes detracts fromthe concentration of the player in making the stroke. It is a well knownfact that the ability of a golfer to score depends quite materially onhis mental attitude and his ability to concentrate, and the knowledgethat the direction-finding mechanism might strike the surface of thegreen after the putting stroke may be sufficient to destroy anyadvantage which might otherwise be obtained through the use of thedirection finder.

It has also been found that a direction finder which is balanced withrespect to the club head is of considerable advantage. If the attachmentincreases the weight at the rear of the club head, as most suchattachments will, the balance of the club is lost. Furthermore, the useof a direction finder which actually overlies the ball during theprocess of addressing the ball before the putting stroke is ofadvantage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely simpleattachment to a putter which will greatly assist the golfer in directingthe ball by insuring the proper relation between the face of the cluband the ball during the putting operation.

Most golfers,.and particularly those who are relatively unfamiliar withthe game, experience two or three major difiiculties in learning toputt. One of these difiiculties lies in a determination of how hard tohit the ball so that it will travel as far as the cup while not greatlyexceeding this distance if the cup is missed. This difficulty can becured only by judgment and experience. However, another difiiculty liesin positioning the face of the club at right angles to the desireddirection of travel. The face of the club is perhaps four inches inlength, and the length of the putt may well be fifty feet. Obviously, ifthe face of the club varies more than a very few degrees from rightangular relation to the desired direction of travel, the ball will endup a considerable distance from the cup. It is an object of the presentinvention to provide a direction indicating device for use on such clubswhich will not materially affect the balance of the club and yet whichwill serve as an effective means of pointing out the angular relation ofthe face of the club.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention willbe more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification;

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a golf club in positionaddressing a golf ball showing the direction indicating apparatus inplace upon the club.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the club head, the position showing therelationship of the ball and the club head at the time of impact.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 omitting the golf ball andshowing a part of the club head broken away to disclose the constructionof the apparatus.

As will be clearly understod, golf clubs produced by differentmanufacturers vary materially in shape and style, and this isparticularly true of the clubs known as putters. Some putters are madein the general shape of the heads of 'wooden clubs, having substantiallyarcuate rear faces and flat forward faces. Some putters are producedwhere the shank of the club to which the club shaft is attached engagesthe club head intermediate the ends thereof, while in other cases, theentire body of the club head is forwardly of the shaft. The presentinvention may be used with virtually any style of putter.

The putter is indicated in general by the numeral 10 and includes a clubhead 11 having a hollow shank 12 connected integrally thereto andextending therefrom. The shank 12 is designed to .extend to accommodatethe lower end of the shaft of the club which is not shown in thedrawings in view of the fact that it is well known in the art. The golfclub 10 is used in conjunction with a golf ball which is indicated ingeneral by the letter A.

In the particular arrangement illustrated, the head 11 of the golf clubis provided with a forward face 13 which is normally flat and the undersurface 14 of the club head is usually slightly rounded so as to cause aminimum of interference. While not specifically illustrated, putters ofthe general type illustrated are usually slightly wedge shaped invertical cross section, the club heads being slightly thicker along thelower edge 14 than along the upper edge 15. Here again, however, thisconstruction is somewhat of a matter of choice.

A vertical aperture 16 is provided extending into the upper surface 15of the club head intermediate the ends of the head, the aperture 16being internally threaded. A T-shaped direction indicator 17 has thestem of its T- shaped body threaded as indicated at 19 to engage intothe aperture 16. The crossbar 20 of the T-shaped member is arranged atright angles to the vertical stem 17, and normally extends an equaldistance on opposite sides of the vertical stem 17. This T-shapeddirection finder which may be indicated in general by the numeral 21 may22. The horizontal cross-bar 20 fits into an arcuate notch 18 at theupper end ofthe vertical stem 17. Under normal circumstances, thecrossbar 20 of the direction finder 21 is not angularly adjustable aboutthe axis of the stem 17 of the structure.

A nut 23 is provided on the threaded end 19 of the direction finder, thepurpose of this nut 23 being to secure the vertical shank 17 ina desiredangular relation with the club head. The crossbar 20 is preferablysecured to extend at right angles to the face 13 of the club headregardless of the slope of the green. In other words, the directionfinder is usually secured in fixed relation to the club face so that thedirection finder will point toward the desired path of movement of the"ball regardless of the position of the cup. On the other hand, thecross member may be adjusted out of right angular relation if it is sodesired.

With the structure thus described, the forward portion of the crossbar20 actually overlies the center portion of the ball A while the ball isbeing addressed, and the direction of the cross member will provide aclear indication to the golfer the direction of travel of the ball ifthe club head is held in the same position while the ball is stroked.Thus the device is particularly helpful in assisting golfers to directthe ball who might otherwise have ditficulty in positioning the clubface at right angles to the desired path of movement of the ball.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and operation of my improvement in Direction Indicatorfor Golfers, and while I have endeavored to set forth the bestembodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may bemade within the scope of the following claims without departing from thespirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A balanced golf putter direction indicator attachment for attachmentto a golf putter blade having an internally threaded verticallyextending annular aperture, the attachment comprising:

a stem having a threaded end adapted to be threadably engaged in a saidputter blade aperture and to extend generally vertically from saidblade,

the other end of said stem including an arcuate groove,

a generally cylindrical cross bar arranged at right angles to the stemand having its axis intersecting the axis of the stem in said groove,

screw means extending through said cross bar and extending axially intosaid stem to selectively hold said 1 cross bar from rotation,

said cross bar having arm portions extending substantially equaldistances on each side of the stem and adapted to lie in a planeintersecting a putting face of a putter blade at right angles,

said arm portions adapted to be in substantially parallel relation to 2.putting surface at the time of putting,

means adjustably secured to said stem adapted to hold I said stem inselectively fixed vertical adjustment to a said putter blade whereby thedirection of indication of said arm portions and the vertical distanceof said 1 arm portions in relation to a said putter face are sealectively fixed.

' 2. A balanced'golf putter direction indicator in comtending annularaperture intermediate its ends and faces, an elongated stem having athreaded end engaged in said blade aperture, the other end of said stemincluding an arcuate groove, a generally cylindrical cross bar arrangedin said groove at right angles to the stem and having its axis inter- 1secting the axis of the stem,

screw means extending through said cross bar and ex- 1 tending axiallyinto said stem to selectively hold said cross bar from rotation,

said cross bar having arm portions extending substantially equaldistances on each side of the stem and arranged in a plane intersectingsaid putting face at.

right angles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,198,525 8/1965Smith 273-194 X.

FOREIGN PATENTS 25,146 1904 Great Britain.

109,891 10/1917 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

G. I. MARLO, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BALANCED GOLF PUTTER DIRECTION INDICATOR ATTACHMENT ATTACHMENT TO AGOLF PUTTER BLADE HAVING AN INTERNALLY THREADED VERTICALLY EXTENDINGANNULAR APERTURE, THE ATTACHMENT COMPRISING: A STEM HAVING A THREADEDEND ADAPTED TO BE THREADABLY ENGAGED IN A SAID PUTTER BLADE APERTURE ANDTO EXTEND GENERALLY VERTICALLY FROM SAID BLADE, THE OTHER END OF SAIDSTEM INCLUDING AN ARCUATE GROOVE, A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CROSS BARARRANGED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE STEM AND HAVING ITS AXIS INTERSECTINGTHE AXIS OF THE STEM IN SAID GROOVE, SCREW MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAIDCROSS BAR AND EXTENDING AXIALLY INTO SAID STEM TO SELECTIVELY HOLD SAIDCROSS BAR FROM ROTATION, SAID CROSS BAR HAVING ARM PORTIONS EXTENDINGSUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL DISTANCES ON EACH SIDE OF THE STEM AND ADAPTED TOLIE IN A PLANE INTERSECTING A PUTTING FACE OF A PUTTER BLADE AT RIGHTANGLES, SAID ARM PORTIONS ADAPTED TO BE IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELRELATION TO A PUTTING SURFACE AT THE TIME OF PUTTING, MEANS ADJUSTABLYSECURED TO SAID STEM ADAPTED TO HOLD SAID STEM IN SELECTIVELY FIXEDVERTICAL ADJUSTMENT TO A SAID PUTTER BLADE WHEREBY THE DIRECTION OFINDICATION OF SAID ARM PORTIONS AND THE VERTICAL DISTANCE OF SAID ARMPORTION IN RELATION TO SAID PUTTER FACE ARE SELECTIVELY FIXED.